Device for distributing tickets and collecting toll at highway tollgates and the like

ABSTRACT

A device for distributing tickets and collecting tolls at highways and the like includes a pneumatic conveyor duct for transporting a container from the cabin of the ticket-collector to a position within reach of the driver, a portion of said duct being displaceable under the control of means actuated from the collector&#39;&#39;s cabin.

United States Patent Inventor Enrico Bontempelli Viale Lazlo 7, Milan, Italy Appl. No. 823,649 Filed May 12, 1969 Patented Aug. 17, 1971 Priority May 28, 1968 Italy 17036 A168 DEVlCE i on msnuntmuc 'rlclciz'rs co uzc'rmc TOLL AT HIGHWAY TOLL/GATES AND THE mu:

2 cum, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. CL 243/19, 243/24, 243/2, 186/1 0, 243/38 Int. Cl ..B65g 51/32, B65g 51/34 Field ofSearch 243/2, 19, 24; 186/1 c [56] Reference Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,562,354 1 1/1925 MacLaren 243/24 1,810,269 6/1931 Emerson 243/2 2,044,391 6/ 1936 Lindsay 186/ l .3 2,698,721 1/1955 Van Otteren 243/19 3,104,078 9/1963 Buchwald et a1. 243/19 3,189,297 6/1965 Ellithorpe 243/19 3,237,881 3/1966 Grosswiller, Jr. et a1. 243/19 Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Homsby Assistant Examiner-Merle F. Mafi'ei Attorney-Waters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen ABSTRACT: A device for distributing tickets and collecting tolls at highways and the like includes a pneumatic conveyor duct for transporting a container from the cabin of the ticketcollector to a position within reach of the driver, a portion of said duct being displaceable under the control of means actuated from the collectors cabin.

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PATENTED AUG] 7 I97! SHEEI 1 OF 2 PATENTEDAUGI H97: 9.599.899

SHEU 2 [IF 2 F H F u A ml DEVICE FOR DISTRIBUTING TICKETS AND COLLECTING TOLL AT HIGHWAY TOLLGATES AND THE LIKE This invention relates to a device for distributing tickets and collecting tolls at a vehicles entry or exit from a highway. A particular object of said device is that of allowing the person located in the tollgate cabin to distribute a ticket or collect a toll from the user situated in the driving seat of the motor vehicle on the side opposite to that of the cabin.

, the full-line) in which the basket 1 the tube 1, or the position 16 projecting towards the street The requirements that such a device must satisfy can be summarized as follows:

a. Distribution must be very rapid;

b. The member from which the user takes the ticket or pays the toll must be retractable or movable so as not to permanently obstruct the lane of passage of the vehicles; and

. c. Control must be centralized in one point, i.e.'in the operator's cabin, the principal object being precisely that of avoiding the necessity for the operator to leave the cabin and go to the opposite side of the lane.

These objects are attained by the device of the invention which comprises an assembly consisting of a pneumatic conveyor for conveying a container from the departure and control station located in the cabin to an arrival station located on the side of the lane opposite to that of the cabin, a compressor-aspirator with motor and a distributor for supplying and inverting the current of air necessary for conveying said container in one direction or the other, and finally a mechanism for horizontally moving the terminal part of the arrival station for facilitating taking out and reinserting the container by the user.

According to a preferred embodiment the compressoraspirator with motor and the distributor for inverting the flow of air are installed at the arrival station togetherwith a reduction gear with motor which rotates an armin the horizontal plane by means of a friction joint, a basket into which the container arrives or from which it departs being fixed rigidly to this arm, said basket being carried by the arm either into the position which is in line with the conveyor tube or into the position closest to the. motor vehicle for the taking or returning of the container by the driver. The starting station, located in the guard cabin, contains only the terminal member of the conveyor tube, of known type, for the introduction or expulsion of the container, together with the control push buttons for the compressor, the distributor and the mechanism for rotating the arm.

These and other characteristics of the invention will be better understood by reference to one possible embodiment illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic elevational view of the device;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the basket which contains the container. The device illustrated comprises a conveyor tube 1 which passing above (or below) the level of the road 2 connects the control or guard cabin 3 to the arrival station 4 situated on the opposite side of the vehicles path. The conveyor tube 1 terminates in the cabin 3 with a member indicated diagrammatically by 5 for the introduction and expulsion of a container 6, said member being of the type well known in pneumatic applications. The tube 1 in the station 4 continues until it divides into a fork or two branches 7 and 8 which are connected respectively to the suction nozzle 9 and delivery nozzle 10 of an air compressor-aspirator 11 driven by the electric motor 12. At the fork a distributor diagrammatically indicated as a butterfly valve 13 operated by an electromagnet 14 is mounted for the purpose of connecting the tube 1 alternatively to 9 or 10. In the station 4 the tube 1 is such that a portion thereof of a certain movable length 15 can be moved laterally. This portion, which will be called a basket" is fixed rigidly to an arm 16 which can be angularly moved, driven by way of a friction joint 17 and shaft 17' of the motor reduction gear 18 so as to assume either the osition 16 indicated by [S arrange coaxially to (indicated by the broken line). The movable length 15 is provided internally with a grill 19 which serve as a support for the arriving or departing container 6 without prejudicing the passage of air, and externally with an elastic rubber ring 20 for avoiding damage to the device in case of collision with the vehicles.

The basket 15 is fluted at its two ends 15', 15 so that when it is recarried by the arm 16 into the conveying position it is arrested against the edges of the tube 1 in the correct coaxial and airtight position. The operators control panel is shown diagrammatically by 21 from which by means of the push buttons 22, 23, 24 and cables 22', 23, 24 he can control the motor 12 of the compressor 11, the electromagnet 14 and the motor 18.

The device operates in the following manner:

When a motor vehicle arrives with its driver on the side opposite the guard cabin 3, the operator inserts the ticket into the container 6 and inserts the container into the tube 5, then pushes the button 22 which starts the compressor and motor 11-12, so causing aspiration of the air in 1 and consequently the pneumatic conveying of the container 6, from 5 to the basket 15. The operator then presses the press button 24 by which the motor 18 is started, thus making the arm 16 with the basket 6 rotate into the position 16'.

The driver takes the ticket from the container and/or introduces toll money into the container. At this point the operator pushes the push button 23 thus causing the return of the arm 16 and basket 6 to the initial position, the operation of the butterfly valve 13 and hence the return of the container to the departure station by means of the pressure of the air.

For reasons of clarity certain members of well-known-type which may form part of the installation have not been shown,

such as limiting switches and other accessories which can be utilized to improve the performance of the device, such as the provision of a mechanism which allows the arm carrying the basket not only to revolve but also to move vertically in order to bring it in line with the window height of the various types of motor vehicle. 1

- The device has been described in a simplified form in order to explain how the invention can be reduced to practice. It is obvious, however, that, instead of actuating each operation by a separate switch as shown, it will be convenient to replace the actuating circuit shown in the drawings by other circuits in which each operation actuates the subsequent operation through electric relays according to arrangements well known in the art of electric controls without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A device for distributing tickets and collecting tolls at highway tollgates and the like, said device comprising an assembly including a pneumatic conveyor tube for conveying a container from a departure and control station located in a cabin on one side of a highway to an arrival station located on the side of the highway opposite to that of the cabin, a motordriven compressor-aspirator and a distributor for supplying and inverting the current of air necessary for conveying said container in one direction or the other, a mechanism for moving the terminal part of the arrival station into a position which facilitates removal and reinsertion of the container by the user, and means located in the cabin for actuating said mechanism, the terminal movable part comprising a length of the said conveyor tube cut in two transversal planes and furnished at its edges with airtight seals, said length of cut tube being supported at the end of an arm which moves angularly about a vertical axis and is driven by a motor including a reduction gear through a friction coupling.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the terminal movable part is surrounded by elastic members so as to prevent damage by possible collision with motor vehicles. 

1. A device for distributing tickets and collecting tolls at highway tollgates and tHe like, said device comprising an assembly including a pneumatic conveyor tube for conveying a container from a departure and control station located in a cabin on one side of a highway to an arrival station located on the side of the highway opposite to that of the cabin, a motor-driven compressor-aspirator and a distributor for supplying and inverting the current of air necessary for conveying said container in one direction or the other, a mechanism for moving the terminal part of the arrival station into a position which facilitates removal and reinsertion of the container by the user, and means located in the cabin for actuating said mechanism, the terminal movable part comprising a length of the said conveyor tube cut in two transversal planes and furnished at its edges with airtight seals, said length of cut tube being supported at the end of an arm which moves angularly about a vertical axis and is driven by a motor including a reduction gear through a friction coupling.
 2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the terminal movable part is surrounded by elastic members so as to prevent damage by possible collision with motor vehicles. 